'The Smurfs' teaches kids it's cool to be different, says Jayma Mays

The Glee actress, who stars alongside Neil Patrick Harris in the partially animated feature, told Parade that The Smurfs aims to teach kids that it's "okay to be unique".

"It's okay to be unique and you're not just one thing - like Clumsy Smurf is not just Clumsy, he's a hero as well. I love the fact that that was the message coming out of their uniqueness, so I hope girls respond to that well," Mays explained.

"I hope that's the message that they take from it. It's okay to be a girl, and it's cool to be different, and whatever your trait is, that's cool and okay."

Mays also spoke highly of Katy Perry, who voices Smurfette in the film.

"She's such a lovely girl," Mays said. "She felt maybe she was a bit of an outcast because she was the only girl. I love the fact that the movie was trying to say that's okay."